Hemze for his part replies, “Our ICE rates are competitive, just to clarify.”

At ICE, spokesman Neubauer said the feds use a handful of jails in Minnesota and do not say what they pay those jails.

“We don’t release the figures,” he said. “Costs are different in different communities — Ramsey County versus, say, a Becker or someplace. Also, we don’t want to advertise because it would then be like price-fixing: ‘These guys gave us this deal.’ And the prices don’t come out of here, locally, but are entered into by people in Washington.”

The rates seemingly could be inferred by comparing, say, Carver’s admitted intake of $800,000 with inmate numbers. But ICE says the numbers are reported by arrest location, which could be another state, and not by the places they are lodged.